The Epistemology of Religious Experience

Description

This book addresses a fundamental question in the philosophy of religion. Can religious experience provide evidence for religious belief? If so, how? Keith Yandell argues against the notion that religious experience is ineffable, while advocating the view that strong numinous experience provides some evidence that God exists. An attractive feature of the book is that it does not confine its attention to any one religious cultural tradition, but tracks the nature of religious experience across different traditions in both the East and the West.

'Yandell's main premise is that religious beliefs and doctrines are not exempt from critical examination by analytical philosopher; rather, they should receive the same degree of critical examination which secular beliefs and doctrines attract. The intricate thread of his argument testifies to the validity of this core premise ... deserves to be read by anyone interested in the analysis of religious experience.' Victoria S. Harrison, Heythrop Journal